Names, brands, writing, and the language of commerce.

June 09, 2008

Word of the Week: Dap

Dap: A fist-to-fist greeting, conducted as though the two parties are punching each other lightly. The word is both a noun and a verb; giving dap is also acceptable. The gesture made headlines and occasioned earnest analysis when Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, bumped knuckles after the candidate's June 3 victory speech in St. Paul.

The word now is dap. You want somebody to know a man is sharp, is au reet, you say he's dap.

("Au reet": hepcat slang for "all right.")

That meaning persisted at least through the 1970s, when the "greeting" meaning began to be adopted. This Vietnam War glossary defines dap as "an elaborate, stylized handshake used mostly among black Americans in Vietnam." RHHDAS provides a 1983 citation asserting that dap means "beautiful" in Vietnamese.

[T]he terminology used to describe the manual move is under dispute. On reporting Obama's speech, The New York Times described it stuffily as a "closed-fisted high-five" while Human Events racily suggested it was closer to "Hezbollah-style fist-jabbing,"(the phrase was later removed from the article). One Internet poster even referred to it as "the fist bump of hope." Other terms for the move include "power five," "fist pound," "knuckle bump," "Quarter Pounder" and "dap."

Black folks give each other dap in all sorts of instances--not just competition. I may give my man a "fist-bump" (arrrgggghh!!! it burns!!!) because my fingers are greasy, because I've got something in my hand, or just because I feel like it. In fact, one of the more awkward moments in black life occurs when two brothers greet each other and one isn't sure whether to use the open hand or the closed fist. You can end up with some pretty awkward exchanges--like shaking a dude's fist.

Crossword puzzles are so educational! I learned the word dap from an Onion A.V. Club crossword by Tyler Hinman in June 2007. He clued it as [High five cousin]. Tyler and I and our team were wont to dap when we had correct answers at bar trivia nights.

Apparently no one recognizes the fist bump as Howie Mandel's (Deal or No Deal) trademark greeting. Mandel is a germophobe and won't shake hands the ordinary way. His recent celebrity, and use of the dap on other TV shows and interviews, may be partly the reason for the resurgence of this particular gesture.

Watch the elbow. If the elbow is down and in, closer to the body, in position to throw a short jab to the shoulder with your head down a bit you're sending the signal that you are going to "dap".
If the elbow is out away from the body, as if you're going to throw a ball, then get ready for a "high five" as you pass. Practice in the mirror. You'll see. Others may be wandering about in confusion, but not you! (This post has been corroborated by three basketball playing teens.) (I got the lowdown from their mom at a pub last night)